Book 5, Chapter 31
Original Latin
86 nam ut quaestuosa mercatura, fructuosa aratio dicitur, non si altera semper omni damno, altera omni tempestatis calamitate semper vacat, sed si multo maiore ex parte exstat in utraque felicitas, sic vita non solum si undique referta bonis est, sed si multo maiore et graviore ex parte bona propendent, beata recte dici potest.
87 sequetur igitur horum ratione vel ad supplicium beata vita virtutem cumque ea descendet in taurum Aristotele Xenocrate Speusippo Polemone auctoribus nec eam minis blandimentisve corrupta deseret. Eadem Calliphontis erit Diodorique sententia, quorum uterque honestatem sic complectitur, ut omnia, quae sine ea sint, longe [et] retro ponenda censeat. Reliqui habere se videntur angustius, enatant tamen, Epicurus Hieronymus et si qui sunt qui desertum illum Carneadeum <finem> curent defendere; nemo est enim eorum quin bonorum animum putet esse iudicem eumque condocefaciat, ut ea, quae bona malave videantur, possit contemnere.
88 nam quae tibi Epicuri videtur, eadem erit Hieronymi et Carneadis causa et hercule omnium reliquorum. quis enim parum est contra mortem aut dolorem paratus?
Ordiamur ab eo, si placet, quem mollem, quem voluptarium dicimus. quid? is tibi mortemne videtur aut dolorem timere, qui eum diem, quo moritur, beatum appellat maxumisque doloribus adfectus eos ipsos inventorum suorum memoria et recordatione confutat? nec haec sic agit, ut ex tempore quasi effuttire videatur. de morte enim ita sentit, ut dissoluto animante sensum extinctum putet, quod autem sensu careat, nihil ad nos id iudicet pertinere. item <in> dolore certa habet quae sequatur, cuius magnitudinem brevitate consolatur, longinquitatem levitate.
89 qui tandem isti grandiloqui contra haec duo, quae maxime angunt, melius se habent quam Epicurus?
An ad cetera, quae mala putantur, non et Epicurus et reliqui philosophi satis parati videntur? quis non paupertatem extimescit? neque tamen quisquam philosophorum.
Musean translation
Complete machine-assisted translation from the Latin. Latin transcription by the Perseus Project, Trustees of Tufts University, CC BY-SA 4.0.
86 “For commerce is called profitable and farming productive not if the one is always free from every loss or the other from every disaster of the weather, but if success predominates by a large margin in each. In the same way a life may rightly be called happy not only if it is full of goods on every side, but if its goods greatly outweigh the rest both in number and in importance.
87 “On their principles, then, a happy life will follow virtue even to execution and descend with it into the bull, with Aristotle, Xenocrates, Speusippus, and Polemo as its sponsors. Neither threats nor enticements will corrupt it into deserting virtue. Callipho and Diodorus will take the same position, for both embrace moral goodness in such a way that they think everything lacking it must be left far behind. The others seem to be in tighter straits, yet they too swim safely out: Epicurus, Hieronymus, and any who care to defend that abandoned ultimate end of Carneades. None of them fails to regard the mind as the judge of goods, and each trains it to be able to scorn the things that seem good or evil.
88 “For whatever you think of Epicurus’ case will apply equally to that of Hieronymus and Carneades—indeed, to all the rest. Which of them is ill prepared to face death or pain?
“Let us begin, if you please, with the man we call soft and devoted to pleasure. Do you think a man fears death or pain when he calls the day of his death happy and, though afflicted with the greatest pains, counters those very pains by remembering and recalling his discoveries? Nor does he say these things as if he were blurting them out on the spur of the moment. His view of death is that sensation is extinguished when the living creature dissolves, and he judges that whatever lacks sensation is of no concern to us. Likewise, in pain he has firm principles to follow: he finds consolation for its intensity in its brevity, and for its duration in its mildness.
89 “How, then, are those grand talkers better placed than Epicurus against these two things that torment us most?
“And as for the other things regarded as evils, do not Epicurus and the remaining philosophers seem well enough prepared? Who does not dread poverty? And yet no philosopher does.”
Plain English translation
Complete independent machine-assisted translation directly from the Latin. Latin transcription by the Perseus Project, Trustees of Tufts University, CC BY-SA 4.0.
86 “We call trade profitable and farming productive, not because the one is always free from every loss and the other always free from every disaster caused by the weather. We use those words if each is successful by a very large margin. In the same way, a life can rightly be called happy not only if it’s packed with good things on every side, but if the good things tip the balance by a much greater and weightier amount.
87 “On their reasoning, then, a happy life will follow virtue even to execution. With the authority of Aristotle, Xenocrates, Speusippus, and Polemo behind it, it will go down into the bull along with virtue. Neither threats nor flattery will corrupt it and make it desert virtue. Callipho and Diodorus will take the same position. Both embrace moral goodness so firmly that they think everything without it should be placed far behind. The remaining thinkers seem to be in a tighter spot. Yet Epicurus, Hieronymus, and anyone who cares to defend that abandoned end proposed by Carneades still swim to safety. Every one of them thinks the mind judges what’s good. Every one trains it to be able to disregard what seems good or bad.
88 “Whatever you think Epicurus’ case is, Hieronymus and Carneades will be in the same position—and, by Hercules, so will all the rest. Which of them hasn’t prepared himself well enough to face death or pain?
“Let’s start, if you like, with the man we call soft and pleasure-loving. Do you think someone is afraid of death or pain if he calls the day he dies a happy day, and, while suffering the greatest pains, overcomes them by recalling and remembering his discoveries? He doesn’t do this as though he’s just blurting something out on the spur of the moment. His view of death is that once a living creature breaks apart, its power of sensation goes out. And he judges that what has no sensation doesn’t concern us at all. In pain, too, he has fixed principles to follow. He finds comfort for severe pain in its shortness, and for lasting pain in its mildness.
89 “How are those big talkers any better off than Epicurus when facing these two things that cause us the most anguish?
“And don’t Epicurus and the other philosophers seem well enough prepared for the other things people consider bad? Who isn’t terrified of poverty? Yet not one philosopher is.”
About this section
Book 5, Chapter 31 is part of Tusculan Disputations by Marcus Tullius Cicero. This page sets the Latin original beside 2 direct-source translations, so any line can be checked against the source. It is part 179 of 189 in the work, which is kept in the Roman tradition.
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